Sale Sharks are the latest Aviva Premiership club to announce seven-figure losses for last season.

Sale, who sit sixth in the Premiership, join Saracens, Bath, Wasps and Worcester in reporting deficits for last season. The Sharks posted pre-tax losses of £2.4 million for 2012-13, double what they lost in the previous year. Turnover at the club fell from £7.5 million in 2012 to £6.2 million.

Sale are supported by property tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has guaranteed funding for the club for at least another 12 months.

In a statement, Sale said: "The company continues to benefit from its financial support of its shareholders, without which we would be unable to prepare these accounts on a going concern basis"

The losses have caused concern in the boardrooms at profit-making clubs, who claim they are disadvantaged by wealthy investors propping up their rivals.

Exeter Chiefs chief executive Tony Rowe summed up the feeling of profit-making clubs. "We run Sandy Park as a business, which means we run at a profit," he said. "If we can't run at a profit then we shouldn't be in business. It does feel a bit unfair that other people can buy players and run sporting businesses as a tax loss. But things come home and bite you on the bum at some stage."

However, Sale's losses of £2.4 million pale into insignificance when compared with those racked up by the country's leading football clubs. Manchester City for example, lost £52 million in 2012-13, which represented an improvement on the previous year when they lost a staggering £98 million.